How You Can Help Flood Victims in Pakistan

Photo Credit: Save the Children A family at a makeshift camp for persons displaced by the extensive flooding in Gujrat Town, district of Muzzafargarh...Intense flooding forced Akram and his extended family of 13 to leave their home on August 2nd. ..Those fleeing the flooding reported an estimated 200 houses washed away or destroyed by flooding. Most inhabitants of Gujrat earn a living through agriculture, farming Rice, Sugar and Cotton. No deaths were reported by the villagers however they estimate that 90% of the herd of cattle and goats have been lost to flooding. ..Within the makeshift camp children are suffering with diarrhea and skin complaints. There is no shelter, no sanitation, no access to clean water and no electricity. Most of the internally displaced people (IDP) sleep under the trees for shelter from the rain. They complain that they have received very little food and water, and only one one occasion had any access of medical supplies via a private donor...

With more than 5 million homeless and 1,600 people feared dead to date, the floods in Pakistan are becoming one of the worst in recorded history. One-fifth of the country is under water. The World Health Organization says that 46 of Pakistan’s 135 districts are affected by the flooding (an area close to the size of Italy). With the lack of clean water, urgent danger, and the specter of communicable diseases such as cholera threatening hundreds of thousands, help is urgently needed.

Nonprofits are hard at work to make a difference in Pakistan. Here’s how you can help:

• Learn more about how charities are helping on the ground by following their blogs, photo blogs  or Facebook updates.
• Donate now to help those nonprofits continue their relief work.

Nonprofit Response

• Acumen Fund: The Acumen Fund supports innovative organizations working in Pakistan. They are an excellent resource to locate strong groups providing flood victims with much needed services.

Blog: http://blog.acumenfund.org/2010/08/13/the-pakistan-floods-how-you-can-help/

• American Red Cross: The Pakistan Red Crescent has provided thousands of people with food packs, relief items and tents from its prepositioned supplies. The American Red Cross has committed an initial $100,000 to support their ongoing relief efforts for the most vulnerable populations, including women and children.

Blog: http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.1a019a978f421296e81ec89e43181aa0/?vgnextoid=c02a25d459d3a210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD

• CARE: CARE is supporting health teams, mobile clinics and the distribution of emergency supplies.

Blog: http://www.care-international.org/Featured-Articles/pakistan-read-the-blogs.html

• Concern Worldwide US: So far, 5,700 families have been helped by Concern Worldwide’s emergency response in Pakistan.

Blog: http://www.concern.net/blogs/pakistan-floods-coverage

• Doctors Without Borders: In addition to the scale-up of medical activities, teams continue to focus on providing affected families with basic items and safe drinking water in order to improve their living conditions and prevent the spread of diseases.

Blog: http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/countries/asia/pakistan/index.cfm

http://www.msf.org/msfinternational/invoke.cfm?objectid=84590B0A-15C5-F00A-25D2E0901B0886CD&component=toolkit.article&method=full_html

Plog: http://msf.ca/blogs/photos/2010/08/09/pakistan-7/

• International Rescue Committee: In Pakistan since 1980, The IRC is bringing badly-needed help to victims of the devastating monsoon floods.

Blog: http://www.theirc.org/blog/where/pakistan

• Islamic Relief USA: Islamic Relief USA launched a $2 million campaign to help the victims, and more than 500 Islamic Relief staff are on the ground distributing aid, conducting needs assessments and helping in the general relief effort.

Blog: http://blog.islamicreliefusa.org/

• Operation USA: Through a network of local partner agencies, Operation USA is responding with critical medical aid, water purification tablets and shelter. Visit the website or Facebook for updates on their efforts in Pakistan.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Operation-USA/103370036602?ref=ts

• Oxfam USA: Oxfam and its partners launched a rapid-relief effort to reach more than one million people with essential aid.

Blog: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10898817

• Save The Children: With programs in Pakistan for 30 years and the capacity to mount large-scale relief, Save the Children quickly deployed staff and launched a humanitarian response. They’ve provided assistance to more than 37,800 children and adults.

Blog: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/blogs/category/theme/pakistan-floods/

Plog: View a slideshow of images on MSN

• US Fund for UNICEF: UNICEF teams have been delivering safe drinking water, critical medical supplies, supplementary food and family hygiene kits to more than a million people a day. In addition, UNICEF is supporting mobile medical teams, vaccination campaigns and sanitation efforts across the affected zone.

Blog: http://www.unicefusa.org/news/news-from-the-field/unicef-emergency-aid-arrives-pakistan.html

• World Vision International: World Vision is providing emergency health services, distributing water, emergency food items, and supplies. They plan to reach 150,000 people over the next three months.

Blog: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/about/emergency-presskit-pakistan?Open&lpos=lft_txt_Pakistan-Floods

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